


A Fate that Befell Me

by Unbeanlievable



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Backstory, Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-01-30 23:00:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21436108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unbeanlievable/pseuds/Unbeanlievable
Summary: The Raven Queen is powerful.The Raven Queen is old.The Raven Queen is tired.She knows her reign is soon coming to an end, she loves her followers and she loves her power, but more than anything she would love to rest.She also knows that she cannot simply disappear, as doing so would leave a void in the balance of the universe, one that someone could abuse. The solution to this dilemma does not come to her for some time, but when it does in hindsight, it seems so simple.
Relationships: Kravitz & The Raven Queen
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

The gods are extraordinary beings. They control the passage of life, from the most inane of processes to those that weave the paths of fate and time itself. 

The Raven Queen was not born with the death of the first living being contrary to the mythologies popular amongst the mortals on Toril. Long ago when life was new and the gods had not yet settled into their future domains, another god of the afterlife existed, though his name has been long since lost to time. 

When the Raven Queen was still mortal she had an affinity for the arcane arts which manifested in her mastery of sorcery. Though death comes for all it came for the Raven Queen sooner than most in the form of a terrible plague. Upon death, it is said that that old god of death became enamoured with the soul of the Raven Queen, so much so that he married her granting her power beyond anything she could have attained in her mortal life. 

Though the Raven Queen loved her husband it was not for his personality though but for his power. She soon became restless, growing tired of having to bend to the will of a more powerful being. Over time, her lust for power grew till it accumulated in a horrible battle between the two. 

The battle ended abruptly and without much fanfare, the only hint that anything had occurred being the new goddess forcing her way into the pantheon.

The unnatural ascension to godhood of the Raven Queen, until recently, had no bearings on her amount of power or level of control she had over death. The only hint that there was something different about the Raven Queen compared to the other gods was her liberal use of reapers, servants devoted to her to help her carry out her will. 

Still, having been the only mortal to achieve godhood after her death gained her respect and fear amongst the other gods, for if she could defeat a god while only a mortal, what harm could she do now that she is a god?

Despite her reputation amongst the other gods the Raven Queen is not as powerful as they believe her to be. Yes she is as powerful as any other god but at her core the Raven Queen is still mortal, and though the divine essence that now powers her being has enabled her to exist for far longer than any other mortal being, the Raven Queen is old.

And the Raven Queen is tired. 

She knows her reign is soon coming to an end, she loves her followers and she loves her power, but more than anything she would love to rest.

She also knows that she cannot simply disappear, as doing so would leave a void in the balance of the universe, one that someone could abuse. The solution to this dilemma does not come to her for some time, but when it does in hindsight, it seems so simple.  
Winters are the hardest time for any animal, though it is harder on the young as the season claims their lives more often than not. The Raven Queen does not mourn for the young lost in her season, after all, it is the cycle of life and death will come to all in the end. Despite her opinions on death, or perhaps because of it, when the Raven Queen feels a pull on her soul towards a lone birds nest on the material plane and she finds a single raven chick covered in snow.

The Raven Queen stares at it for a moment, watching the chick shiver, trying desperately to stay warm though its imminent is unavoidable. The chick looks up at her, and peeps, and suddenly the Raven Queen’s heart melts. She cradles the raven in her hands, not protecting it from the cold, as there’s nothing she can do to prevent its death, but comforting it as it slowly freezes to death.

As the raven dies, the Raven Queen suddenly knows what to do. As the soul departs from the body of the raven, the Raven Queen holds it, and for the first time in her existence, she creates life.

A child, born from the dying thoughts of a raven. A child she can raise and teach to become the future ruler of the Astral Plane. 

The Raven Queen takes only a moment to marvel at the baby she cradles in her arms, the life she has created, before whisking him off to her palace in the Astral Plane. 

She holds her child gently in her arms as he begins to wail, unsure of where he is or what is happening. 

The Raven Queen smiles. “Hello my child,” she coos as she rocks him in her arms. Her child slowly stops crying as he is soothed by his mother’s gentle rocking and comforting words. He opens his eyes, curious about the new world around him. He grabs onto one of the many braids that tumble down his mother’s hair and pulls on it slightly. The Raven Queen winces, but is filled with love for her child. 

She gently, very aware of how easy it would be to injure him, kisses his forehead. She smiles against his forehead, whispering “my darling, Kravitz.”


	2. Chapter 2

Kravitz grows up strange. 

Time does not progress in the same way in the astral plane as it does on the material plane. Yes it is linear but it is also malleable. He spends decades not increasing in age at all only to age years in seconds. 

Having a goddess a mother does not help the issue at all. The Raven Queen’s sense of self has been warped so greatly due to eons of divine power running through her being that she is fluid, no longer contained to one single form. 

Kravitz grows up being mothered by a humanoid elf with long, endless braids cascading down her back with skin as dark as night, a floating skull belonging to no known living species surrounded by hundreds of feathers creating a halo of darkness, a giant chicken with thousands of teeth and hundreds of unblinking eyes. 

Kravitz takes after his mother’s ever changing forms. At first he simply changes his form to match hers, but as he grows he creates his own. A raven with blood red eyes and razor sharp teeth, a handsome human man with dark, ebony wings and eyes covering every inch of his body, and sometimes, he forgoes a form at all, instead reverting back to his soul, a simple ball of soft, white light that hovers in the air. 

It isn’t until his mother begins giving him more responsibility and as he starts the frequent the material plane that he learns of the differences between him and mortals.

It fascinates him.

Kravtiz may change his form as often as he pleases but mortals are confined to the one body they are given at birth. Yes that form may change in height and width, and they may superficially alter their bodies with jewelry and dyes, but they are unable to change so completely as he can. 

Yet despite their attachment to their singular form, mortals are constantly evolving. Kravitz finds it so thrilling that mortals can change so completely from one moment to the next. Their existence is so messy and complicated.

Kravitz absolutely adores them.

Mortals get to choose who they want to be, and they never know moment from moment what will happen next in their lives. They get to grow and learn, and while Kravitz did have a childhood, he was never given the opportunity to explore and discover the different possibilities of who he could be.

Kravitz isn’t bitter about this. Of course not. He loves his mother dearly and is quite content with the role he is going to play in the world. The role he was created for.

But sometimes, he does wonder who he could be.

Normally Kravitz pushes these trains of thought aside and instead goes to his mother and lets her preen his wings, but on this day, Kravitz cannot get rid of the thought, and so he finds himself standing on a lone street corner late at night in some city. 

Kravitz has no idea what his plan is. Perhaps this was a bad idea, he has no idea how mortals do this there are so many different options he could choose from. 

Kravitz could go to a tavern and join a group of travelling adventurers and use his magical abilities to fight evil or he could become the evil that people fight against. He could join an artisan guild and become a craftsman or he could become a scholar and spend all his time amongst towers and towers of dusty, old books. 

Perhaps he should go home. He has work he needs to be getting back to and he should really bury this fantasy of his six feet under. 

Kravitz is just in the middle of summoning his scythe when he hears it. The soft, lolling notes of a violin. 

Kravitz follows the sound which leads him to a dusty old tavern. It’s late enough at night that the majority of the patrons have already retired for the evening but not late enough yet that the bard has finished his set. 

Kravitz stands outside of the tavern, looking through the cracked window at the bard, mesmerized by the mediocre music that is being played. 

The bard misses a note here and there and occasionally as their bow squeaks horrendously as it glides across the strings but regardless, Kravitz is enchanted. With every note his heart soars and the longer he listens, the more sure he becomes that this is what he is meant to do.

Kravitz isn’t sure how long he spends standing there watching the bard, but time seems to slow as he watches them play. 

When the bard finishes playing, Kravitz takes only a moment to bask in all the incredible feelings the music filled him with before twirling his cloak around him and disappearing in a puff of smoke. 

Kravitz sits before his mother as she preens his wings. She twitters and chirps as she carefully removes the loose feathers in his wings. His wings are more ruffled than usual, they have been ever since he listened to the bard in the tavern. Kravitz knows he shouldn’t be nervous around his mother, she loves him after all, but he can’t help but fear her reacting poorly to him wanting to pick up such a mortal pass time.

The Raven Queen’s claws still after removing a feather that she carefully places onto the floor of the throne room. She clears her throat before continuing to preen his wings. “Something troubles you, Kravitz.”

Kravitz pauses. He shifts form into a small skeletal cat and crawls into his mother’s lap.She strokes his back for a few moments, letting him gather his thoughts. “Would you be, upset with me, if I were to engage in activities that were not related with my duty?”

Kravitz feels himself being lifted up and finds himself looking his mother directly in her many many eyes. “Oh Kravitz, I would never forbid you from living your life.”

“Even if it were to distract me from the reason I was made?”

The Raven Queen frowns gently and slowly shrinks so that her form matches her son’s. She curls around him and begins to purr softly. “Kravitz, when I made you I was so focused on creating an heir to inherit my power so that I could finally rest. I was not thinking of the burden I was putting on you and for that I am truly sorry. I love you too much to continue to force this responsibility on to you. If you wish to inherit the title of God of Death then we will continue with our plan but I will not stop you from following your heart’s desire.”

The Raven Queen feels Kravitz snuggle closer to her, tension he had been holding in for so long suddenly draining out of his body. Her son's wishes would certainly mess her plans up but really, it doesn't matter. All she wants is for her son to be happy. Everything else she can figure out later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I wasn't planning on posting this part but I finished writing it today and I was pretty happy with it so here it is!
> 
> Please leave a comment and kudos if you would like to I would really appreciate it!
> 
> My tumblr is unbeanlievable.tumblr.com if you would like to follow me there.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what this is I wrote this in class because I was bored.
> 
> Please leave a kudos or comment if you would like to!
> 
> My tumblr is unbeanlievable.tumblr.com


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